Anthony Obi OgboColumnsHealthOpinionFrom Texas Southern to Space: Tigers and the Strahan Success Story

Avatar PilotnewsDecember 5, 2021
TSU’s offer was therefore the foundation of the confidence that invoked his NFL prospects in his junior season. By his senior year with the Texas Southern Tigers, Strahan was already positioned for his unexpected expedition to stardom.

 

All through last week, NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan dominated the news media. Every news outlet featured him on the screen and in print because of his latest career endeavor. Strahan, who won Super Bowl XLII during his 15-year career with the New York Giants, will join Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard, on a December 9 mission aboard the New Shepard, a spacecraft named after her father and the first American in space.

It was exciting to find out that Strahan, an African American who is also with ABC’s Good Morning America, will fly as a guest of Blue Origin with Churchley. They will join four paying customers: philanthropist Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, Lane Ventures founder Lane Bess and his son, Cameron. But the media has been agog with this event, projecting Strahan’s success from the NFL through his mainstream media confraternity.

Strahan’s life and career success are a household story. We know, of course, that he was born in Houston; we know that at the age of nine he moved to Germany to join his father, who was stationed there as a major in the U.S. Army. We are familiar with his family’s football history: his mother, Louise Strahan, was a basketball coach whereas his uncle, Art Strahan, is a retired NFL defensive lineman. Strahan’s career is notable for several positive highlights that are well known to media outlets.

However, there seems to be something missing from the stories and documentaries that trail Strahan’s latest landmark: his college background. Strahan attended Texas Southern University (TSU) and would be the first alum of this institution to explore space. As we know, TSU is a historically Black public university and is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the nation, with more than 10,000 enrolled students engaged in over 100 academic programs.

But there is something in TSU’s culture that propelled Strahan to his latest career and life endeavors

But there is something in TSU’s culture that propelled Strahan to his latest career and life endeavors and that is the institution’s unyielding desire to nurture and offer opportunities to prospective students of color. He was offered a scholarship by the Tigers of TSU; the very same opportunity that signaled the beginning of what is now celebrated as history.

TSU’s offer was therefore the foundation of the confidence that invoked his NFL prospects in his junior season. By his senior year with the Texas Southern Tigers, Strahan was already positioned for his unexpected expedition to stardom. He chronicled 68 tackles and broke the school record with 19 quarterback sacks. He was selected as Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year by The Poor Man’s Guide and Edd Hayes Black College Sports Report. By 1992, Strahan was named the Team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

But the lessons of the Strahan success story are a reflection of the core significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the nation’s advancement and future. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the academic year 2018–19, some 48,400 degrees were conferred by HBCUs. Of those degrees, 73 percent were conferred to Black students.

Indeed, the philosophy of HBCUs is not about African-Americanizing the education system at all. HBCUs were created to provide Black Americans with a route to higher education and, for the record, it was not until the 1960s that more primarily white colleges began admitting Black students. There is also a psychological relevance. Because their historical background is based on a system that is more or less antagonistic to their prospects, African-American graduates from HBCUs are more likely to prosper in career determination than non-Black students attending HBCUs.

The philosophy of HBCU is liberty and equality in providing access to quality education for people of color. Strahan remains a success story of this, benefitting both his alma mater and the entire nation. Strahan understands his role as an HBCU alum and has facilitated several programs to benefit his hometown of Houston as well as his alma mater, TSU.

Finally, TSU, just like any other HBCU, has a story tied to racial inequality that affected the education system during the 19th century, which was an era of intense and systemic discrimination against Black Americans. In a system where exceptional prospective Black students and athletes struggle to gain entrance to traditionally white colleges and universities, it might be fair to state that TSU provided Strahan with the inclusive route not only to an impeccable career path but also to space.

♦ Professor Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D. is on the Editorial Board of the West African Pilot News. Article is also published in the West African Pilot News

Avatar
Follow us

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com